I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Nordstrom (Las Vegas, NV) in October 2014.

Interview

I applied online and a day later I received an invite for a phone interview. It was a basic interview. Why do you want to work for Nordstroms? Tell me about yourself. Stuff like that. I was invited for an interview with the department manager. We did a mock sell which was pretty easy.

Applied online, got a call for an interview with department manager. Wonderful manager, JK, interview was very interactive but I was a little shy. Manager did his homework. I received a call back and started orientation the following week.

I’m really disappointed in Nordstrom and their hiring process. It seems like they’re looking for homogeneity within their Corporate Strategy department. Quite frankly you can see it in the makeup of the team as a whole. If you’re not exactly like others on the team and you don’t have the exact same bubbly super extroverted personality they’re not interested in moving you forward. And quite frankly, I think that’s really sad. They might want to rethink their hiring process and how they evaluate personality.

I reached out to the recruiter via email, as the Taleo system they use is a black hole. We then had a phone screener. I then spoke to a member of the team for a first round. The next round consisted of 2 45 minute case studies with two different team members. This is where the process ended. But if I had made it I would have been flown onsite. A week after the case interviews, the recruiter left me a voicemail stating that I had done well on the cases, but that the team had a hard time getting a feel for my personality, so they’ve decided not to move forward. I think that’s really unfortunate.

First of all, if they care about the personality portion so much why dedicate 30 minutes to a case and only 15 minutes to the behavioral portion? Or why have cases at all?But more importantly, I don’t think there’s anything I did which suggested I don’t have a personality or would be difficult to work with. Yes, I am typically more reserved, but during interviews I always try to build rapport and banter with my interviewers and thought I had done so, at the very least with the first interviewer. The second interviewer was very friendly, but perhaps a bit more difficult to get a read of as far as rapport-I really thought nothing of it because I’ve found that interviewers’ enthusiasm or seemingly lack thereof doesn’t necessarily make a difference. I’ve had interviews where the person on the other end seemed completely uninterested and monotone, but despite that I ended up moving forward.Throughout the case interviews, I smiled and answered the behavioral component as best as I could including questions such as “what do you do in your free time?” “How did you spend Thanksgiving?”

The recruiter said because they work so closely the fact that they weren’t able to get much of a feel for my personality is problematic. I understand the concept of close knit teams, coming from management consulting where you get so close that you literally eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with your team the 2 to 3 months you’re traveling on projects. I get it. But I take exception to the fact that they couldn’t get much of an idea of my personality. Additionally, just because someone isn’t necessarily as extroverted as you are, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be fun to work with or easygoing. The weird thing is they didn’t even ask me anything about teamwork and getting along with others during the interview. Doing so, might have given them a better idea of how I work in a team setting. The team drew faulty assumptions. And unfortunately their assumptions weren’t predicated on complete information i.e., not even bothering to ask about teamwork, etc.

At the end of the day you can’t force a company to hire you, but I think rejecting someone due to personality or cultural fit is really just an excuse for saying this person is different than others on our team and doesn’t have the same personality, so we don’t want to work with them. I think in the case of Nordstrom’s Corporate Strategy division this excuse is being used to promote a culture of exclusivity and homogeneity. I really hate to say this and we are in the year 2017, but there is something called implicit bias. If Nordstrom’s interviewers proceed from the lens that they’re only looking for a specific type of personality and person they could lose out on a lot of good candidates. From that vantage point, I quite simply don’t look like others on the team. If you’re only used to hiring one type of person any person who goes against this mold immediately has a strike against them. I’m not saying Nordstrom is doing this purposefully, but the might want to reevaluate their hiring processes to examine how biases seep in since they’re placing such an emphasis on personality fit. I also wonder if using more senior people to conduct the process would have made a difference. Or at the very least using one senior person and then one junior person to conduct the case might have allowed the team to get a more comprehensive view of the candidate as a whole. I feel as though senior people are probably less inclined to place such an emphasis on personality fit, as opposed to junior people who might be more focused on the extent to which a new hire fits into their “clique.”

Interview Questions

Two case studies. They are exhibit style case studies. Sort of similar to what you might see at the strategy consulting firms. But a bit less rigorous. And they’re obviously retail focused. Answer Question

A quick phone call screening about availability. Talked to the manager about position, my interest and my availability. Didn't think there were any difficult questions. Just be personable and honest about what times you will be able to commit to

I applied through other source. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Nordstrom in September 2012.

Interview

I believed in the history and culture of this company as it was explained in this very professional and positive interview. However, some things were shared or committed to by the hiring manager that didn't turn out to be a reality.

I applied through other source. I interviewed at Nordstrom (Towson, MD) in April 2014.

Interview

I talked about basic work experience with HR person;had a meeting with counter manager and then with cosmetic managers. Questions about work experience and customer service, how you will hold a difficult customer.

Nordstrom Careers

This is the employer's chance to tell you why you should work for them. The information provided is from their perspective.

Company Updates

Proud to announce that Blake Nordstrom was named one of Glassdoor’s Top CEOs!

When Glassdoor asked how our recruiting efforts reflect our industry, he noted, "People have choices [of] where to shop. There’s an even higher bar when you decide where you’re going to work. You are taking your character, your reputation and your integrity and saying, “I want to go work with that company and those people.” So at the end of the day, we want people to feel proud of the team and the company they’re associated with."